Management

Executive management

History

The first succesful flights to save human life and health were carried out in Poland before the II World War with the use of planes belonging to the military forces and aeroclubs.

After the war, in 1955, civilian medical aviation was set up. Tadeusz Wieckowski, an excellent pilot, member of the Home Army and soldier in the Warsaw Uprising, was given a task to organize it by the minister of health Rajmund Baranski. Soon there were 15 medical aviation teams set up. They were located in such a way that all together they operated on the whole area of Poland. The tasks of the teams were to transport the severely ill to the hospitals, to transport medicines, blood, vaccinations, and medical equipment. Additionally, medical consultants were taken aboard in order to take them to the hospitals in remote parts of Poland to carry out complicated operations.

S-13 biplanes were used in those times. They had relatively small flight speed and were adapted to transport the patient in a recumbent position. These planes were produced in Poland on the basis of CSS-13 planes license. One-engine planes started to be used later on. These were: Jak 12 M, Jak 12 A, PZL 101 Gawron, AN-2. Additionally, multi-engined planes were also introduced, such as Super Aero 45, L-50 Morawa, Turbolet. Some of the teams were equipped in SM-1 and SM-2 helicopters in the mid-sixties. Starting from 1975 in all the bases MI-2 helicopters were introduced.

The basic team consisted of a pilot and nurse (or qualified in medical aid attendant). Doctors from near-by hospitals started to attend patients on board later on.

In 2000 the late minister of health Franciszka Cegielska established a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service. She also set up one organization – The Polish Medical Air Rescue with bases in Poland on 16th of May 2000. Now it is a government financed uniform organization. It employs pilots, paramedics or nurses and doctors in each of the 17 regional HEMS bases. The Polish Medical Air Rescue operates also two medical planes.

The changes resulted in high standards for medical emergency, 4-minutes of operational readiness to an emergency flight including. The number of emergency flights rose dramatically. Nowadays the helicopter teams make more then 5 000 flights a year, out of which 70 per cent are the flights to the casualties of car accidents on site and to other emergencies. The HEMS team is able to begin the treatment and quickly transport the patient to an emergency ward in the nearest hospital within so called “golden hour”.
 

Fleet

Mi-2 Plus

EC 135

Piaggio 180 Avanti

Medical equipment

Requirements for a medical assistant